【推荐2】If you’d like to learn how to bake bread, here’s a wonderful place to start. This easy white bread recipe bakes up deliciously golden brown.

Makes

● 2 loaves (16 slices each)

Ingredients

● 1 package (7g) active dry yeast

● 2-1/4 cups warm water

● 3 tablespoons sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar

● 1 tablespoon salt

● 2 tablespoons canola oil

● 6-1/4 to 6-3/4 cups bread flour

Directions

● In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in warm water; let stand until bubbles form on surface. Stir together 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Stir oil into yeast mixture, pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.

● Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

● Punch dough down. Turn into a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in two greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

● Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped or has reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Kitchen Tips

● Be careful that your water isn’t too hot when proofing yeast.

● You can store homemade bread in a plastic bag or a bread box for maximum freshness.

Nutrition facts

1 slice: 102 calories, 1g fat, 0 cholesterol, 222mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, 3g protein.

Reviews

☆ Helen

Mar 12, 2021

Fantastic recipe! I followed the directions, and it turned out perfect. Very good flavor and great for beginners. I really liked it and so did my friends.

☆ Mary

Mar 31, 2021

I was super excited to try this bread recipe, but the process was a bit frustrating. The end result was good though. It might be more helpful if it is made into a video.

1. How much sugar is dissolved with yeast?

A．Half of a teaspoon.	B．3 teaspoons.
C．Half of a tablespoon.	D．3 tablespoons.

2. How should we deal with the dough?

A．It should be kneaded on a greased surface.

B．It takes 8-10 minutes to rise to double its size.

C．It needs to be put in a cool place to become softer.

D．It should be baked at 375 degrees for about half an hour.

3. What does Mary think of the recipe?

A．It is not easy to follow.	B．It is great for beginners.
C．It is not as good as she expected.	D．It is the best recipe she has tried.

【推荐3】The average chicken will live for anywhere from three to seven years. That is mostly because there are so many different kinds of chickens living under a wide range of conditions.

In humans’ ongoing exploration to satisfy our desires for chicken noodle soup, wings, and legs, scientists have had to re-engineer the food chicken. In just 70 years, we’ve managed to build a brand-new chicken. It’s a bird with feet that never leave the ground, wings that scarcely shake, and stomaches that only grow bigger. It’s the hybrid ( 杂 交的) hen — perhaps the world’s first purpose-built animal.

As a result, the modern broiler chicken has a life expectancy of around seven weeks. Because that’s about when we like to eat them. Egg-laying chickens have similarly shortened lives. In contrast, what’s known as a heritage hen is similar to the chicken your grandmother may have had. They’re often kept in backyards, where there isn’t such an urgency to maximize egg production. Nature alone influences their genes, and thus heritage hens can live about eight years.

Although the variety is a pretty crucial factor, there is another issue that affects how long a chicken will live. Chickens get diseases, too. For instance, fowl cholera (禽霍乱) goes mostly for a chicken’s organs and joints. It can bring about sudden death in affected birds. Hens don’t have to stress out quite so much, as the disease is known to affect roosters more often than hens. Another life-shortening disease is salmonellosis (沙门氏菌病), a bacterial disease affecting young chickens. In itself, it may not directly kill a chicken. But since humans are sensitive to salmonella-infected meat and eggs, an outbreak could result in a massive killing at its source.

There are a lot of people trying to keep chickens safe. Additives in food, particularly those that strengthen the immune system, and vaccinations may play an important role in keeping a chicken around longer. But it’s also important to keep a chicken healthy, happy, and sheltered.

1. Why did scientists re-engineer chicken genes?

A．To make chickens healthier.

B．To make chickens live longer.

C．To meet human’s demand for chicken.

D．To improve the appearance of chickens.

2. What can we learn about the heritage hens from paragraph 3?

A．They live longer than hybrid hens.

B．They are more popular with customers.

C．They are usually raised by Grandmothers.

D．They won’t be eaten until after their death.

3. What may happen to a salmonella-infected chicken?

A．It may be killed.	B．It will be separated.
C．Its organs will be hurt.	D．It won’t affect humans.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Some Troubles as a Chicken	B．Hybrid vs Heritage Hens
C．How Long Do Chickens Live?	D．Want a Chicken to Lead a Long Life?

【推荐1】Education isn’t simply about achieving a “higher state of knowledge”; it’s about equipping students with the tools they need to go out into the world and shape it for themselves. Here is a list of how education could improve the world.

    1    .

Education brings up many environmental topics to students and encourages them to think about the ecosystems around them. Today it is becoming important to be aware of this and education allows us to consume more responsibly and take action for the care of our planet.

Education helps people develop skills.

Schools cover many topics, and as you continue through schools’ programs, more and more subjects open up to you.     2    , anyone can find their passion and do what they truly love!

Getting an education not only means learning skills like reading and writing, but also means knowing abstract concepts like teamwork, critical thinking and creativity.    3    , you become an individual who is more likely to live a greater life than someone less educated.

Education is a step toward world peace.

    4    ! Research shows that countries with secondary school enrollment rates that are 10% above the international average have a 3% lower rate of engaging in a war. It has been shown that educated people are less likely to be violent. And this holds true for all regions of the world, whether developed or developing.    5    .

Education is a pretty investment. If one extra year of school can produce such benefits, what will the world be like when universal education becomes a reality?

A．Education lets people take on responsibility

B．When you combine these two knowledge areas

C．With all the possible topics available for students to learn

D．Education helps people keep up with our fast-moving world

E．Education’s role in promoting world peace is very important

F．Uneducated people, on the other hand, are more likely to be violent toward others

G．Students can do a lot to improve their environmental impact at their schools and in their lives

【推荐2】Recess for Kids

Ask a group of kids about their favorite part of the school day and many will talk about something that happened at recess. Maybe they finally made it across the monkey bars (单杠). Maybe somebody kicked the ball over the fence. Maybe a fruit tree in a neighboring yard started to drop apples on the playground.     1    

It’s true not just according to kids, but also to adults who study recess for kids. Whether they’re inventing a new game or sitting under a tree, kids need a break — or several of them — during the school day.

Why Kids Need Recess.

There's no debate that recess, or mainly referred to as physical activity, is good for kids.

You can’t have your brains go hours at a time and retain and store information in working memory.     2     Besides, activity that involves arms and legs — running, climbing, crawling — builds new neural connections, which helps kids regulate their emotions. Studies show that after recess children are more attentive in class, perform better and have fewer emotional problems.

How Much Recess Should Kids Get.

“Ideally, children should get four 15-minute recesses every day”, says Debbie Rhea, a professor from Texas Christian University, who advocates for outdoor play in schools.     3     It is noted that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently expanded the idea to encourage recess for all students, including those in middle and high school.

    4    

In addition to simply providing enough time for recess, schools should teach skills that will make recess more successful. For instance, letting kids run fast will help them develop coordination.     5    . And even falling, is something kids need to practice to avoid getting badly hurt. To allow children to take reasonable risks with their bodies is also a wise move.

A．How to Make Recess Better.

B．Who should help kids recess.

C．You need time away to process it.

D．This recommendation has been widely accepted.

E．Any one of these things is a marker of a good recess.

F．Maybe running up the slide is not as unsafe as it looks.

G．We wouldn’t have kids sitting there for math or reading for long hours.

【推荐3】Teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep per night. However, in adolescence (青春期) changes to the body’s sleep cycle make it difficult for teens to fall asleep early. Many cannot fall asleep until 10:30 p.m. or even later and most of them will feel sleepy if they have to get up too early.

Scientists recommend that both middle and high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Later school start times support the natural needs of teenagers and increase their sleeping time.

Here are some other benefits of later school start times:

More time for a healthy breakfast

When running late in the mornings, students are likely to go without breakfast. With an empty stomach, one finds it difficult to focus (集中) in class. When they are always in a hurry, students may form unhealthy eating habits.

With extra time before going to school, students can eat a well-balanced breakfast and focus more on learning.

Fewer behavioral (行为的) problems

Teens experience mood changes as a common result of this special period of life. Less sleep may cause worries, stress and unhappiness.

When they get enough sleep, students are calm and peaceful and their moods do not change suddenly. They’re less likely to feel worried, unhappy or get angry. For parents, children with more sleep are easier to live with.

Better performance (表现) in study

Sleep loss hurts attention, memory and brain development. Students with less sleep have difficulty paying attention in class and are likely to have lower grades. Students with enough sleep can be more energetic during the day and more willing to learn. They are also less likely to fall asleep in class and more able to understand what they learn.

In conclusion, starting school later helps students get a better night’s sleep. It improves their chances of eating, behaving and performing better.

1. According to the passage, what may cause teenagers to stay up?

A．Their low grades.	B．Their empty stomachs.
C．Their body’s sleep cycle.	D．Their heavy homework.

2. How can sleep loss influence students’ study?

A．It gives them much energy.	B．It does harm to the brain.
C．It saves more time for study.	D．It improves their memory.

3. What’s the writer’s main purpose in writing this passage?

A．To explain reasons for students’ stress.	B．To describe bad habits caused by sleep loss.
C．To discuss scientists’ research on healthy food.	D．To introduce benefits of later school start times.

4. In which part of the website can you probably find this passage?

A．Education.

B．Fashion.

C．Sports.

D．Technology.